A salesman, repairman, technician, or the like often has to carry a stock of parts or supplies that must be readily accessible on the job. Similarly it is known to provide freestanding racks for medical supplies or parts that are shipped in a container in which they are displayed and/or stored by the end user.
A standard such container is basically just a set of shelves with closed side, top, bottom, and back walls and with at least one horizontal partition forming a pair of compartments. A cover is releasably secured over the open front side of such a container to hold in the items in the compartments, and to secure bins or drawers that may be in the compartments.
A standard problem with such containers is that the contents do not remain segregated in their respective compartments during shipment. Jarring or suddenly displacing such a container will cause its contents to mix with each other, require sorting-out at the user's end.
Another drawback is that such containers do not hold very much, and in too few compartments. It is frequently desired, as for instance by an electrical repairman to stock a very large quantity of different small parts. To do so necessitates the use of several prior-art compartmented containers.